Madeline in London

by Ludwig Bemelmans

What on earth could make Miss Clavel, Madeline, and her 11 nameless classmates leave belle Paris for the tea-and-crumpeted, sometimes trumpeted city of London?

A mission to cheer up the lonely, thin, increasingly despondent Pepito, son of the Spanish ambassador, who had to move away from his house next door to Madeline's in Paris.

In their efforts to cheer him up, and for a birthday surprise, Miss Clavel and the girls buy him a retired horse.

All is fine until the horse gallops off at the sound of the trumpet to take his place at the head of the queen's Life Guards (his occupation before retiring). As readers whoosh through busy London scenes, we forget the horse has had nothing to eat all day.

Upon his return to Pepito's home, he eats everything in sight: "The gardener dropped his garden hose. / There wasn't a daisy or a rose. / 'All my work and all my care / For nought! Oh, this is hard to bear.'" Meanwhile, as the horse is passed out from exhaustion and overeating, Pepito's mother says he has to go. And so Madeline and the others take the horse home with them to Paris, where "They brushed his teeth and gave him bread, / And covered him up / and put him to bed."

Ludwig Bemelmans charms us again with the uniquely skewed logic and matter-of-fact madness of childhood that young readers will adore.

*

매델라인(Madeline)은 미국에서 애니(Anny)만큼이나 유명한 고아 소녀예요.

그녀에 관한 동화가 많이 있구요.

재미있게도 제 영어과외 선생님의 여동생 미들네임과 퍼스트 네임이 메델라인 애니라네요..ㅎㅎ

왜 그렇게 지었는지 모르지만 아무래도 놀림을 받긴하나봐요.

**

Pepito moved to London. He was lonely and he missed Madeline.
His fateher invited Madeline and her friends to their house.

Madeline and her friends prepared Pepito's Birthday present.
It is a horse, becaus he wanted a horse.Madeline and Pepito rode the horse.
They had so mush fun.

But then Pepito's mother said "The horse has to go", because the horse has eaten the neighborhood's garden.
So Madeline will take care of the horse.

Arthur's Pet Business

by Marc Brown

Arthur's determination to prove he is responsible enough to have a puppy brings him a menagerie of animals to care for.

*

아서라는 캐릭터는 미국에서 많이 알려진 캐릭터예요.

여러가지 주제를 다룬 TV시리즈와 책도 많습니다.

저는 처음에 아서 캐릭터가 곰인줄 알았는데... 쥐라네요... -.-;;

좋아하는 캐릭터는 아니지만, 익숙해서인지 읽기는 좋은거 같아요.

Dinner at Magritte's

 

by Michael Garland

Young Pierre finds that weekends in the country outside Paris are a little too dull for his liking.There are no children to play with, and his parents sit "still as stone."

But a visit next door soon changes all that, because Pierre is lucky enough to have as neighbors surrealist artist Rene Magritte and his wife, Georgette.

On this particular day the Magrittes' friend Salvador Dali is invited to dinner, and an exciting affair it is-flying fish soup and partridge pie (the fish really leap and the birds still fly!). And before dinner, Pierre finds himself occupied with a croquet game (with a limp mallet) and a dash through the rain (cats and dogs tumble from the sky).

Garland's droll text ("Did you dilly, Dali?") is complemented by Magritte-style oil paintings filled, appropriately, with surrealist images: Magritte's bowler hats, Dali's melted clocks, etc.

A useful note sets Magritte and Dali (and Garland) in context. Paying tribute to the magic of surrealist art and to the ever-active imagination, this work is eerie, fun and inspiring.

*

마가리뜨와 달리를 알아서인지 재미있는 동화책이였어요.

화가의 특징을 잡아서 잘표현했구요. 이야기도 재미있었습니다.

정말 제게도 마가리뜨와 달리와 같은 이웃이 있으면 좋겠다는 생각을 했어요.

Little Grunt and the Big Egg

 

by Tomie De Paola

The whole Grunt tribe is looking forward to a giant omelet when Little Grunt's egg hunt unearths a huge specimen.

Their smiles of anticipation turn to frowns when the potential brunch source blossoms into a freshly hatched dinosaur. George is a lovable little fellow, then a lovable big fellow, then the disgruntled Grunts kick him out.

He's not housebroken, and his immense size and strength create other annoyances, such as blowing away the relatives with a single sneeze. Little Grunt is broken-hearted until George proves his worth by rescuing the family from certain doom, and receives suitable approbation--and a final surprise.

DePaola's books possess his inimitable stamp, and this prehistoric romp is no exception: the round-faced Grunt clan is unmistakably his, as are the many comical touches such as Chief Rockhead's green banana headdress and the ladies' costume jewelry.

This lively twist on the familiar tale of a boy and his pet is sure to provoke giggles.

*

영어 과외를 하면서 일주일에 한번씩 동화책을 읽고 있어요.

확실히 아이들책은 그림이 있어서 모르는 단어가 나오더라도, 그림으로 유추하기에 좋더군요.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (Illustrator)

For the first time in a decade, Willy Wonka, the reclusive and eccentric chocolate maker, is opening his doors to the public--well, five members of the public to be exact.

The lucky five who find a Golden Ticket in their Wonka chocolate bars will receive a private tour of the factory, given by Mr. Wonka himself.

For young Charlie Bucket, this a dream come true. And, when he finds a dollar bill in the street, he can't help but buy two Wonka's Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delights--even though his impoverished family could certainly use the extra dollar for food.

But as Charlie unwraps the second chocolate bar, he sees the glimmer of gold just under the wrapper! The very next day, Charlie, along with his unworthy fellow winners Mike Teavee, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Augustus Gloop, steps through the factory gates to discover whether or not the rumors surrounding the Chocolate Factory and its mysterious owner are true.

What they find is that the gossip can't compare to the extraordinary truth, and for Charlie, life will never be the same again. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, another unforgettable masterpiece from the legendary Roald Dahl, never fails to delight, thrill, and utterly captivate.